Losing innocence
by Nagaki-Pumpkin
Summary: As Little Sisters grow older, ADAM isn't the only thing the Splicers want from them...


So I had this idea. So I wrote this thing. So I uploaded it  
... Yeah x3  
This has some hidden meaning and deep psychological stuff, that actually wasn't planned. It just fit perfectly with what I wanted to write. So... Enjoy!

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His large metal feet made an echoing sound down the long, dark hall, while she danced soundlessly in front of him, barefooted and not minding the rubble and broken glass and furniture covering the floor. Once she winced as she stepped on a shard of glass, but her skin glowed weakly and was healed the next second. She merely shrugged and started dancing again, quietly singing as the echo was insanely loud in the empty rooms of Rapture. The years had changed her appearance – she was taller, her hair longer, even her voice pitched differently. But her mind was still that of a little girl.

The Little Sister pulled her dress down with an annoyed sigh. She had outgrown it long ago, it was too short and had tears everywhere, but she had no other clothing. Her and her Big Daddy had tried finding abandoned clothes in the many closets around the underwater city, but most had been raided by Splicers or was torn to pieces. So she coped, the ADAM in her body keeping her warm enough, at least.  
"Oh! Look, Daddy!" She grabbed his arm and pointed to a corpse on the floor. "It's an angel. Maybe he will give me food!"  
The figure in the diving suit made a rumbling sound and followed her to the corpse. She kneeled next to it, examining it for a second. A male Splicer, half of his face shot of. He had probably been in a fight with another. Life was tough in Rapture, and the Splicers desperate for ADAM. And that was exactly why the Big Daddies followed their Little Sisters around.

When the Little Sisters fed, they were technically harvesting ADAM, it was the only reason why they were modified. When Rapture's system fell and no one were in control anymore, most people died or became Splicers, who then became horrid creatures because of overdosing the ADAM, and the Little Sisters were left to harvest only for themselves or the Splicer who managed to harvest her. The Big Daddies were nearly indestructible, and only few had lost fighting the Splicers. Therefore there were still a great number of Little Sisters and Big Daddies around the city, always looking for more food for the girls.

Only a single female Splicer was stupid enough to try and get the girl, and ran straight into the drill arm of her protector. He tossed her aside with no effort, and turned around to the girl, who had finished. This time he picked her up and placed her on his shoulders. He felt better when he knew exactly where she was.  
"Hey, Daddy? Can we go to my room?" He growled and walked towards the orphanage. Most Little Sisters still thought of that place as their 'house', and sometimes slept in the old beds, even though they didn't really need the rest. They did get tired from time to time, but it didn't take long before they were filled with energy again.  
The doors to the sleep hall opened for them and he lifted her down. She walked to a bed with a few toys on it and started playing. The room was messy with mattresses spread around, some beds turned upside down as if they were tossed aside, some beds simply a bunch of wood on the floor, but most of the toys that weren't broken, were neatly arranges in little piles all over the room. The Little Sisters seemed to have a system; If the toys were in a designated pile, others didn't touch it. If they didn't want something anymore, they placed in somewhere away from the piles, so another could have it. Rapture was a big city, and even though there were still plenty of girls around, they rarely met.  
The Little Sister played and slept, the Big Daddy never leaving her side or looking away. He had one job, one want, and that was to protect her. As long as she was safe, he needed nothing else.

They walked around the city, harvested ADAM, walked around again, she played and he watched. Not many Splicers wanted to mess with the big figure in the diving suit, so they were mostly by themselves. Sometimes a low, growling echo from another Big Daddy could be heard from far away. All days passed like that.  
Except this day.

Everything started out as usual. But in the middle of a harvest, a rocket suddenly hit The Big Daddy's chestpiece and knocked him back several feet. He growled and ran towards the Splicers in front of him, Little Sister directly behind him. His drill hit three of them before settling in the stomach of a fourth, twisting and pulling at his intestines. Tossing him aside, he turned and grabbed another with his hand, tossing him head first into the ground and splitting his skull. Two more careless Splicers met their end before another rocket hit the head of the suit, busting two of the portholes, and forcing him to the ground.  
"Daddy!" Her scream was heartbreaking, and she tried to run towards him. A Splicer grabbed her arm and knocked her to the ground. The Big Daddy growled and tried to get up, but another rocket was launched at him, knocking him back down, where they started disassembling him. The Little Sister screamed again, and the eyes of the suit looked her way. One Splicer was holding her down, another ripping her clothes apart. She screamed again and again, but they just laughed.  
The vision of the protector blurred, and with a loud growl he made a final effort to reach out to her.  
"No! Stop, stop it! Daddy, help! Daddy!"

His vision returned to him. The area around him looked the same as before, but with blood and bodies covering the floor. Another Big Daddy, a Rosie model, hovered over him, in the middle of reattaching the drill to his elbow. A young Little Sister, still only a child, peeked at him from behind her guardian. He looked around, confused but then remembered. He jumped up, ignoring the drill which was only halfway attached, and ran towards his own Little Sister who was lying against a glass wall.  
She was unconscious, lying naked on her side with her arms across her body, as if she had tried to hug herself. There was half-dried blood on her temple, she had several bruises all over her body, and more blood had trickled down her thighs from between her legs. Someplace in his mind, he understood what that meant, but he refused to acknowledge it. He was extremely relieved that she hadn't been harvested, but felt uneasy as she wasn't moving. He reached out and carefully placed his hand on her cheek.  
"Uhm… Mister?" He turned around and saw the other Little Sister and her protector. She was standing with a small blanket, twisting it shyly in her hands. "We heard her screaming, and walked over here. They were… They were doing bad things to her. I asked Daddy to help her, but she hit her head real hard before he got rid of the bad people." The Rosie growled in agreement. The Little Sister held up the blanket. "Can I help her?" He looked at her for a moment and stepped aside, letting her step closer and covering his girl. She stirred as the blanket was tucked around her and slowly opened her eyes.

The Big Daddy nodded quietly at the Rosie, thanking him. The other answered with a low rumble and picked up his Little Sister, placing her on his shoulder. She waved at them before disappearing.  
His Little Sister was lying in his arms, still wrapped in the blanket. She was very quiet and seemed sad, but she was alive, and that was all he needed. He carried her to the orphanage, and took her to the washroom to clean the blood off her. She winced when he touched her thighs, so he let her handle that herself. Carrying her around the orphanage, he found a locked, untouched room with some clothes in the closet. The dress was a bit too big, but neither of them were picky. She looked like she was feeling better, but she had not said a words since he fainted. He let his hand run over her cheek again, and she raised her head. Her glowing eyes seemed… different somehow.  
"Daddy?" Her voice was strained. "Why is the world suddenly so scary and dark?"  
Unable to answer with anything but a rumble, he watched helplessly as she started crying.  
"Even you look different…" she barely managed to say. Still, she tossed her arms around the suit and sobbed into the metal.  
"I don't want this! I want my world back, with the pretty things, the angels and the nice people!"

The experience had scarred her in a way her modifications couldn't fix. The beautiful, bright world she was used to, had been replaced with the dark and cruel reality, and she didn't want to leave her room. Only when she was completely famished, did she agree to let her guardian carry her out of the orphanage. He would walk around an area several times before putting her down. She was confused at first, seeing as her view of being fed was suddenly different as well, but she harvested and immediately asked to go back.  
He was uncomfortable with her change, and tried to find ways to cheer her up. He only succeeded few times. Her childlike spirit had disappeared, and with it every bit of happiness she had felt before. She couldn't forget, and she didn't know what to do with herself. Whenever she heard Splicers on their few trips, she forgot her hunger and begged to be returned. She was getting weak and somehow defenseless. Her will to live had been a great asset before. Now that was slowly disappearing, too.

One day he took a chance and left her while she was sleeping, quickly searching the orphanage. Every second away from her was hell, but he had to do this. If she had no reason to live, he would give her one. It was his job as her protector.  
He stepped into the sleep hall just as she woke up. He walked to her bed, throwing the big pile of different weapons, he had been gathering. She looked at him, surprised, and he just pointed at the weapons, and then at a drawing she had made of a Splicer.


End file.
